hi
The intermediate flange under the fuel pump in my beetle needs to be changed due to a visable crack and an oil leak. Is there anything that I should be extra careful of before I go to it?
is it as straight forward as it seams?
any advise?
thanks

Had the same problem with the 1600 in my 57. But when I went to take the old one off found that the top piece (flange) had broken off the tubey bit down inside the engine. This bit was stuck in the hole and wasn't going to come out easy. So I cheated and filled the crack with silicon and siliconed the flange to the tube and bolted it all back together. Have had no leak and no problems since. Probably not recomended practise buy trade standards, but it saved me a lot of work.
I'll fix it properly when the engine gets rebuilt.

Be careful when you buy a new one as there are 2 grades or qualities.

The Brazilian one which most places have is usualy too big on the section that goes down inside the engine, so test fit it first, it should slip in easy. DONT FORCE IT.

If it does not slip in get some emery cloth and sand the diameter down so that it slips in nice n easy.

The german one which a few places carry should slip in just right, but also check it as well n DONT FORCE it either as they tend to brake then you usually have to strip the engine to get the broken piece out of the hole.

I have FIRST hand experience of this as i broke off a BRazilian one in of my engines.

so once its sitting in correctly refit the fuel pump and dont over tighten the nuts as this can also crack the space guide block, and your bacjk to step one again.:cry

Yeah had this problem.
Silicon works-ish as long as you REALLY clean it with Prepsol.
IF the top has broken off i SUPPOSE you could break the new one and just have a new flange on there. The other bit wont fall in as it is tapered, but is still there to guide the pump rod.
If it doesnt cone out in one piece i would wait for the rebuild before you go too far

As VW54 says, the tube part of the fitting must slide down inside the case easy, so yes, if needed use emery paper on the outside until it's a slip-in fit.

The second reason you need to do this is that if it's a tight fit, it will swell INWARDS when the case gets hot (since it can't swell outwards) and may jam the fuel pump push rod and stop it decsending, then your engine stops. A short time later the engine cools a few degrees, the pump rod releases and the car will start again. It can drive you crazy if you don't know what's causing it.

thanks everyone
Job now done using german flange and new gaskets. It just popped in with no forcing or sanding what so ever. Maybe lucky this time around. Too easy
Rick......:thumb

Glad to hear it worked out OK Rick.